Extron Boosts Learning in Kenyon College's New West Quad

control systems, audio, DTP y AV sobre IP de NAV Pro de Extron are facilitating training and collaboration in the expansion that has been carried out in the Kenyon College, Composed of three buildings located on the West Quad campus.

Kenyon College is a Liberal Arts college located on a hilltop in Gambier (Ohio). Surrounded by landscapes of natural beauty, this institution of 200 years old is among the 25 best universities in the Ivy League. The newest addition to this prestigious campus is the West Quad, Composed of three new multi-story buildings, enhanced with Extron audiovisual technology.

One of the buildings of the West Quad it Oden Hall, dedicated to interdisciplinary social sciences. Nearby is Lowell House, which houses the admissions and financial aid areas on the ground floor, and traditional and unique learning spaces at upper levels. Each building has four floors.

They flank the main structure of the West Quad, the avant-garde Chalmers Library. This building serves as a nerve center for undergraduate research, in addition to offering academic and professional guidance.

Although visually it is the same height as Oden Hall and Lowell House, The library has two basements and four floors above ground, which include a central atrium that opens to each floor.

Learning and collaboration

West Quad spaces include active learning classrooms, immersive and traditional, conference rooms, laboratories, workshops, conference and meeting rooms, and presentation spaces, from studios to large conference rooms.

Each building required flexible, professional-quality audiovisual systems for a select set of core and specialized functions in a wide variety of environments. The spaces had to offer the possibility of connecting to share resources and increase the number of people.

The audiovisual components had to be standardized for the other buildings on campus, with various additional functions in certain rooms. System requirements ranged from in-room presentations with intuitive control to connected and additional spaces.

The HDMI and USB connectivity for mobile devices was also mandatory in all three buildings. These digital connections, as well as food, would be available on lecterns, credenzas, mesas, walls or floors, depending on the room.

Each room had to include at least one projection system on the ceiling or a wall display. A wide collection of displays mounted on mobile carts would be available to increase visibility when requested.

Other requirements included the possibility of using pagers and digital signage in every building. For control, Using the same system interface or similar screen layouts would allow faculty to, staff and students move fluidly between rooms without needing assistance from the IT department.

Anticipating heavy use of the West Quad, facility had to provide local room occupancy data and schedule individual spaces or groups using existing campus reservation system software.

Finally, The installation had to be expandable without the need to replace existing system components. Future expansion of the system would allow for connecting additional rooms and buildings. Besides, It was sought to integrate the same team to accelerate expansion deadlines, as well as to help the university manage costs and optimize system maintenance.

Kenyon College hired Nv5 for system design and Radiant Technology for integration. Working together, agreed that the designs would be based on various Extron technologies, including NAVPro AV over IP, DTP y control.

Extron NAVPro AVo IP, DTP y control

Throughout the West Quad, the systems Extron NAV Pro AV over IP connects rooms across the campus network, and its solutions AV switching Deliver quality video with crystal-clear sound and intuitive operation.

Kenyon maintains presentation equipment in more than one hundred classrooms, as well as in other learning and meeting spaces. These AV systems include one or more computers, at least one video projection system or large screen, and AV connectivity, available on walls and furniture.

Many rooms are equipped with additional fountains, as an optical media player, a document camera, one or more monitors with smart pen, webcams and Apple TV with screen projection. AV system components are typically housed in a local rack.

Some of the rooms with specific needs include the Oden Hall auditorium and various presentation and seminar rooms in all three buildings. Another similar space is the Chalmers Library presentation recording studio., that required capabilities such as startup automated recording and control environmental.

These audiovisual systems allow selectable distribution of video and audio for live presentations and round tables, where microphone signals and program audio can be route using AES67 to the red Dante for distribution.

Although uses vary by building and space, The flexibility and reliability of Extron systems allow the same product types to support a wide variety of environments and meet technology requirements.

NAV system for content distribution

Extron NAV Pro AV over IP system selected for optimal flexibility, Signal integrity and video scalability in a high-performance solution.

In every room and space, los NAV scaling encoders and decoders connect to local switches, and set-top boxes deliver content at the native resolution of each display device. The layout of the learning space changes frequently; therefore, NAV connection points are installed in all rooms. Connection points are located on walls, floors and furniture.

The auditorium, seminar rooms and presentation spaces offer the same flexibility, using more standard products and connection options.

Los NAV terminals Additional supports auxiliary displays in mobile carts and provide AV connectivity for personal devices, such as a guest presenter's laptop or the audio and video equipment that panelists bring.

To facilitate access for students, several rooms and spaces are connected using the NAV system. For example, a presentation in the auditorium can be shared with meeting rooms and secondary presentations. Besides, popular events held in the Chalmers Library Special Collections space can be sent to multiple classrooms, allowing students to share the experience. Includes featured content, live camera streams and audio.

Live and programmed sound

The system designer at NV5 selected the DMP Plus series DSP processors from Extron combined with XPA series power amplifiers for installations in rooms, stating that these products streamlined mixing operations for the instructor and maintenance for the support team.

Select models include up to twelve channels of acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) Dante. The AEC guarantees sound quality during conferences, presentations and files. To route a Dante channel instead of a local mic/line input, the FlexInput function mixer processes audio from Dante-compatible devices. This allows DSP functions to be incorporated, including AEC, for incoming Dante channels.

Control and programming

Intuitive control of the AV system is achieved through various TouchLink Prok touch screens in various sizes and formats. They are mounted on lecterns, walls or other furniture and offer a personalized user interface for each space.

Touch screens work in conjunction with a IP Link Pro control processor from Extron that monitors and controls the AV system. Some make it easier to control the environment, like the lighting in the room, blinds or elevators and projector screens.

Some control processors include the LinkLicense update for the user interface, allowing personal devices to function as the main control interface of the audiovisual system. Faculty and staff appreciate this flexible control option.

To manage space reservations, a TouchLink room reservation panel has been installed, easy to use, on the outside of the door. Teachers and staff can check room availability in real time and reserve the classroom, the meeting room or presentation space by following the on-screen instructions.

Los TouchLink room reservation panels from Extron connect directly to the university's calendar and reservation system. The integration team used Extron Room Agent software, installed on your computers, to configure booking panels quickly and easily.

The Kenyon support team is in the early stages of integrating GlobalViewer Enterprise from Extron for remote system monitoring and control across campus.

Presentation screenshot

Among the unique spaces of the West Quad, Chalmers Library has the digital collaborative study. This is a presentation recording studio with a single button to record and store on a user-provided USB flash drive..

And SMP Series Streaming Media Processor from Extron is the core of the AV recording system. It is, along with the other components of the AV system, installs on the sideboard. An Extron remote control panel is located on the sideboard surface, designed for SMP series. Panel includes record/start and stop buttons, as well as the pause and chapter mark. Also includes USB input.

Kenyon's multi-phase West Quad project completed in approximately three years, from construction and tender to commissioning of the system in the three buildings. NAV and DTP systems, as well as other Extron products, work as specified. Staff and students use the technology as the university administration intended and Radiant Technology provided it with Extron.

Kenyon College is using its new, technologically advanced campus buildings to capture its approach to problem-solving from multiple perspectives, interdisciplinary to create connections.

Extron Equipment Installed:

• NAV E 101: HDMI 1G Pro AV over IP Encoder.
• NAVSD501: 1G Pro AV over IP to HDMI Scaling Decoder, Ethernet y USB; y NAVSD-101: HDMI 1G Pro AV over IP scaling decoder.
• Navigator: Pro AV over IP Systems Administrator.
• SMP 351: H.264 Streaming Media Processor.
• SW HD 4K Plus: 4K/60 HDMI Switches with Ethernet Monitoring and Control.
• Extensor USB Plus Serie D: Twisted pair extender for USB peripherals: decorative style wall plates.
• DTP2 211: DTP2 4K/60 HDMI Transmitter/Receiver with Integrated Audio. DTP HWP 4K 231 D: Decorator Style Wall Plate HDMI Transmitter/Receiver: 70 metros. DTP HDMI 4K 330: HDMI Transmitter/Receiver – 100 metros.
• Cable Cubby 100 US: Cable access boxes for AV and power connectivity.
• DMP 128 Plus C AT: ProDSP 12 processor×8 with AEC and Dante. DMP 128 Plus AT: ProDSP 12 processor×8 with Dante. DMP 44 LC: Digital Matrix 4 Processor×4.
• MPA 601: mono amplifier 70/100 V – 60 watts.
• XPA 2001-70V: mono amplifier 70 V y 200 watts.
• TLS 525M: 5 TouchLink Programming Panel″ for wall mounting. TLP Pro 1025M: The touch panel TouchLink Pro de 10″ with wall mount. TLP Pro 1025T: TouchLink Pro dessert touch panel 10 inches.
• IPCP Pro PCS1: IP Link Pro Power and Device Control Processor. IPCP Pro 360: IP Link Pro Control Processor. IPCP Pro 555: IP Link Pro Control Processor with LinkLicense for UI Upgrade. IPCP Pro 255: IP Link Pro Control Processor.
• RCP 101 UE: Remote control panels for SMP series products, Flex55 and EU modules.
• NBP 106 D: Network button panel with 6 Buttons - Decorative Style Wall Plate.
• MLC Plus 100: Controlador MediaLink Plus.
• USB Plus Array Controller: For USB peripherals.